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Practice games

Animal Cards

Everyone moves like an animal around their own ball, so the whole group runs, jumps, balances and crawls at once.

Warm-up 10 min 8 to 12 players Cage Half pitch 2019 to 2021

Moving Well Lift each other

Animal Cards: set-up 20 m by 20 mcardsC

A cone on each corner; everyone dribbles inside while the coach at the side holds up an animal card without a word.

Set up

  • Put a cone at each corner of a square about 25 big adult steps across.
  • Give every child a ball inside the square.
  • Stand at one side holding your cards so everyone can see you.

8 to 12 children, a square about 20 m by 20 m.

How to play

  • Everyone dribbles anywhere in the square.
  • Hold up an animal card high. Do not shout it.
  • Children leave their ball and move like that animal around it for a slow count of five. Frog: two-footed jumps, soft landing. Bear: hands and feet. Crab: tummy up. Flamingo: one leg, arms out. Kangaroo: big jumps. Cheetah: fast feet to touch any side line and back.
  • Drop the card. Everyone finds their ball and dribbles again.
  • Every animal the whole group completes earns one zoo point. Try to beat the group's zoo points from last week.

Keeping everyone moving

Every child has their own ball and their own animal space, and there is no out.

Make it easier

  • Use only 3 animals and do each one alongside the children.
  • Let children carry the ball in their hands between animals.

Make it harder

  • Hold up two cards, an animal and a ball move.
  • Let a child invent a new animal for everyone.

Three things to say

  • Soft, quiet landings on the balls of the feet.
  • Eyes up to spot the card.
  • Quick return to the ball and first touch away into space.

Words that work: "Brave try at a new animal!", "Great eyes up, you spotted it first time.", "Love how you cheered your friend's crab."

Colts habit

Lifting each other, when children invent animals for the group.

Both feet

Dribble with the practice foot on every zoo point round.

Heads up

Cards are shown, never called, so children must look up.

For your birth year

Pick a birth year to show the tweak for that group.

2020 to 2021
3 to 4 animals, a count of three, lots of silly noises.
2018 to 2019
All 6 animals, dribble with the practice foot between cards.
2016 to 2017
Rarely needed. If used, add a switch card meaning dribble to a different quarter of the square.

A young leader can run this one, with an adult coach beside them.

Safety: Check the grass for holes. Give extra space for Cheetah and keep a two-arm gap between children. Bear and Crab on dry ground only.

Keeping score: Group zoo points only, kept on the coach's phone. No individual scores.